DUANE
Duane's take
Now, I'm tellin' this one straight from the official marker — here's the story as it stands recorded in Wood County. Picture it: 1881, and somewhere out in Wood County, five charter members gathered under a nearby arbor. No church building, no deed, no guarantee of anything.
Just Elder Jacob Ziegler, Deacon P. M. Gunstream, and three other souls holding an organizational meeting and deciding they were going to start something.
And somebody — the marker calls it legend — looked at that little gathering and said there was little hope this church would survive more than a year. So that's what they named it. Little Hope Missionary Baptist Church.
Now, I don't know if that name was meant as an insult or a dare, but either way, those five people took it and kept right on going. The skeptics, it turns out, had miscalculated. The fellowship began to grow steadily.
New members were received into the congregation following baptisms held in J. A. Stinson's mill pond — not some grand baptistery, mind you, a mill pond — which tells you something about the kind of plain, determined faith that built this place.
That same year, 1881, a man named J. D. Cox donated a portion of the land on which the church stands.
Near the end of the nineteenth century, the congregation purchased three additional acres. Then, in later years, other small tracts were added, including the site of an old schoolyard, until what began under an arbor had put down roots that spread across the ground in every direction. And Little Hope didn't just tend to itself.
Soon after its own organization, the congregation helped establish the nearby East Point Missionary Baptist congregation. Building itself and helping build others — that's a particular kind of strength. For more than one hundred years, Little Hope Missionary Baptist Church has provided service and leadership to that corner of Wood County.
The church that wasn't supposed to last a year lasted more than a century. I'd say whoever came up with that name did this congregation the finest favor they ever received.
What the marker says
Led by Elder Jacob Ziegler and Deacon P. M. Gunstream, the five charter members of this congregation held their organizational meeting in 1881 under a nearby arbor. Legend holds that the church was given its name because there was little hope the church would survive more than a year. In spite of the skepticism, the fellowship began to grow steadily. Early members were received into the congregation following baptisms held in J. A. Stinson's mill pond. A portion of the land on which the church is located was donated in 1881 by J. D. Cox. Near the end of the nineteenth century, Little Hope Missionary Baptist Church purchased three additional acres. In later years other small tracts of land, including the site of an old schoolyard, were added to the church property. For more than one hundred years Little Hope Missionary Baptist Church has provided service and leadership to this area of Wood County. Soon after its own organization, the congregation helped establish the nearby East Point Missionary Baptist congregation. The growth of Little Hope Missionary Baptist Church reflects the ideals and religious dedication of its founders, while the historic congregation is a reminder of the area's rich heritage. (1983)